Stig Larsson, CEO of Level Six / CEO of Terra Outdoor Group
Board Chair of Paddlesports Trade Coalition
I had the pleasure of working alongside Andrea through her role with the Paddlesports Trade Coalition, and her leadership in organizing the upcoming PTC Colab event has been nothing short of exceptional. Andrea has a rare ability to bring together a wide range of stakeholders — manufacturers, retailers, advocacy groups, and industry partners — and align them around a shared vision.
From the earliest planning stages, Andrea took ownership of mobilizing the Coalition’s network, coordinating the agenda and speakers, and keeping momentum high even as priorities shifted. She’s the kind of person who anticipates challenges before they arise and communicates with clarity and warmth, which makes people genuinely want to show up and contribute. Her organizational skills are matched by her genuine passion for the paddlesports industry, and it shows in how thoughtfully she’s approached every detail of the Colab event, from outreach to programming.
Andrea is a connector in the truest sense — she builds trust quickly, listens well, and knows how to turn a room full of different interests into a collaborative team.
Lesford H. Duncan, MPH
Executive Director, Outdoor Foundation
ACA Level 2 River Kayaking Instructor, Smart Start Endorsed: Kayak
I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Andrea White over the past three years during her time at Georgia Rivers, and I can say without hesitation that she is one of the most visionary, effective, and values-driven leaders in the paddlesports community today.
Andrea’s leadership in creating and expanding the Beaver Crew program has been extraordinary. She built a one-of-a-kind initiative that has trained dozens of diverse kayaking leaders who are now shaping paddlesports programs across Georgia and beyond. It is truly one of the strongest, most thoughtful models for expanding access to paddling that I’ve seen anywhere in the country.
What makes Andrea exceptional is that she didn’t just design a groundbreaking program—she also led the fundraising, cultivated meaningful donor relationships (including with the Outdoor Foundation), and ensured the program had the resources and stability needed to grow. Her commitment to community-centered leadership and her ability to translate vision into execution is rare and deeply impactful.
Andrea is also a powerful voice in advancing diversity in paddlesports. I had the honor of collaborating with her on a recent piece for Paddling Magazine highlighting this work. Her insight, authenticity, and unwavering dedication to equity elevate every conversation and every project she touches.
Beyond Georgia Rivers, Andrea is a respected national leader through her roles with the American Canoe Association, where her expertise, integrity, and passion continue to influence the future of paddlesports.
If you have the opportunity to work with Andrea, take it! She is a catalyst, a collaborator, and a true champion for making the outdoors more inclusive and accessible for all.
Geoff Luckett
Chair, ACA Paddlesports Fishing Committee
ACA Level 1 Kayak and Paddlesports Fishing Instructor Trainer; Level 2 River Kayaking Instructor, Smart Start Endorsed: Kayak
I have worked with Andrea for nearly 10 years, and she has repeatedly proven to be an exceptional collaborator.
She led the charge to write, develop, and implement an entirely new curriculum—Paddlesports Fishing—for the American Canoe Association. Andrea excelled at bringing together key leaders across the kayak angling community, establishing the credibility needed to make the program highly respected and attractive to the general public.
Simultaneously, Andrea organized paddlesports instructor training programs in partnership with state agencies, including Tennessee State Parks, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Alabama State Parks, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Beginning in Tennessee in 2022, Andrea was the driving force behind “Kayaking 101,” an initiative created to safely introduce the public to paddlesports. To bring this vision to life, she built another strong coalition bringing together state agencies and regional paddle clubs throughout Tennessee. Over the past five years, this program has expanded across multiple Southeastern states, including Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina.
Throughout our time working together, Andrea has consistently shown herself to be goal-oriented and focus-driven. She establishes clear objectives and designs actionable, step-by-step strategies to achieve them. She is exceptionally skilled at building consensus, even among diverse stakeholders with competing priorities. I continue to work closely with Andrea because she is dependable, direct, and always follows through.
Meredith Waters, PMP
Founder, Thriving at Waters Edge
Board Member, Great Falls Foundation
ACA DC State Director; Past Chair ACA Regional Activity Council
Executive Committee Member of the ACA Regional Activity Council
I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Andrea White for several years through our volunteer roles as ACA State Directors and together on the Executive Committee for the ACA Regional Activity Council. In that time, I’ve seen Andrea consistently show up as a builder — someone who turns grassroots paddling communities into real leadership pipelines, and who brings the same rigor to safety education and policy work that she brings to mentoring new paddlers. She has a rare ability to connect people across state lines, agencies, and skill levels, and to make sure the “whole community” — not just the most experienced paddlers — has a seat at the table. Andrea’s launch of Cross Currents Leadership is a natural extension of the work I watched her do for years as a volunteer: building safer, more inclusive paddlesports communities through mentorship, training, and thoughtful partnership. Any organization working with her will be in excellent hands
Sarah Mackenzie Taylor
Communications Professional, worked together at Georgia Rivers
Andrea is a powerhouse of paddlesports safety knowledge, skill, and passion. I had the privilege of working closely with her for a few years as she built Georgia Rivers’ paddlesports safety program from the ground up. It was an honor to watch her transform her ambitious vision into a reality, often creatively leveraging limited resources and liberally applying elbow grease to pull off program wins that had profound impacts that rippled across the Southeast paddling community and culture.
If you have a vision for your organization, program, or personal development that involves paddlesports safety in any way, I promise you want Andrea White on your team. She brings boundless positive energy with a keen strategic eye and GETS THINGS DONE. I’ve never met someone more proactive about solving problems. She will identify (and solve!) roadblocks before anyone else even clocks there’s an issue. This trait made her an invaluable asset within and beyond her role at Georgia Rivers. As the Communications Director for Georgia Rivers, I often leveraged Andrea’s well rounded knowledge of marketing and community engagement to improve our organization’s campaigns. I’m so grateful for all the wisdom she shared with me over the years!
As an educator, you will not meet a more dedicated, caring, or effective instructor. Her passion for paddlesports safety is matched only by her passion for empowering and lifting up those around her. She’s a woman on a mission, and her work already has, and will continue to, save lives.
Janina Edwards
ACA Level 2 River Kayaking & Coastal Kayaking Instructor
Smart Start Endorsed: Kayak and Canoe
Andrea White has created a powerful model to prepare paddling leaders at the beginning of their journey to take the American Canoe Association instructor certification workshop (ICW), specifically for river kayaking. The ACA instructor certification workshop is rigorous and demanding. As a graduate of Andrea’s program, I was set up to complete it successfully. Over several months she familiarized us with optimal paddling form, basic strokes, self and assisted rescue techniques, terms, instruction concepts and gave us ample opportunity to practice teaching. I can’t imagine doing the instructor certification workshop without this training. I’m so glad I didn’t have to.
Andrea is passionate about kayaking and creating the next generation of diverse, safety-focused, top notch instructors. As Andrea would say, “You gotta believe.” She believes in her students and empowered us to pass it forward. If you’re wondering if this is a good opportunity, wonder no more. Step up and launch your boat! Enjoy the journey.
Kim Abney
ACA Level 4 River Kayaking Instructor
Paddling Club Officer, ACA Tennessee Deputy State Director
ACA Tennessee Kayaking 101 Event Coordinator
Andrea White is a force to be reckoned with! She is an outstanding advocate of padders throughout the South and beyond. Andrea is a grassroots paddlesports leader, who is able to connect the dots with stakeholders of all kinds, from industry to the average person who has never been on the water. She is able project manage large programs and events like Kayaking 101, which she developed, has consulting expertise with state agencies and has worked with the TN State legislature among others.
Simone Adams
Founding Executive Director, Color My Outdoors
ACA Level 2 River Kayaking Instructor, Smart Start Endorsed: Kayak
I am honored to recommend Andrea White as a leader who delivers real, measurable progress toward a more inclusive outdoors. Andrea has a proven track record of building systems, securing resources, and implementing strategies that expand access and representation. I had the pleasure of being recruited by her in her role at Georgia Rivers Network to obtain my L2 River Kayaking instructor certification, and she has been a true supporter of our work at Color My Outdoors.
What sets Andrea apart is her credibility. Her work in paddlesports education and outdoor leadership development demonstrates how intentional design, training, and accountability create meaningful change. She has built programs that increase participation, develop new leaders, and establish safety and confidence as foundations for long-term engagement. Her approach is a combination of strategic vision and operational discipline. She builds trust with communities, partners effectively across sectors, and holds herself to a high standard of follow-through.
Andrea is exactly the kind of leader organizations need if they are serious about building an outdoor industry that reflects the people it serves. I trust her judgment, her leadership, and her ability to deliver results.
Jason Eccles
President at Aqua Bound/Bending Branches LLC
Andrea has been working closely with the Paddlesports Trade Coalition as an Associate member of the organization. She has brought much insight and many ideas to the organization from her many years of experience within paddle sports. Andrea’s passion, enthusiasm, and energy accompanies her every time she shows up. Her talent in Marketing, Social Media, and Digital platforms has been instrumental in helping to meet the under resourced needs of the PTC organization.
Lola Potter
Communications Professional; worked together at the State of Tennessee
I’ve known Andrea for two decades. She’s passionate about what she’s doing and puts her energy into improving every project she contributes to. Andrea is a people person: sincere, authentic and trustworthy. Her field of knowledge is deep and wide; she’s a quick study and if there’s something she doesn’t know, she’s quick to find out about it. She’s a strategic thinker, but can make quick decisions when she needs to. She’s a detailed planner and organizer and usually two steps ahead of everyone else. Her leadership and interpersonal skills come from her authenticity; she can build collaboration, enthusiasm and direct energy for success. As long as I’ve known her, she’s put everything she has into any venture and drives its success. We worked together in a government agency filled with old-school bureaucracy that drove most of us nuts – Andrea found ways around, over and through it. If I were stranded on a desert island, she’s the one I’d want with me to ensure not only surviving, but thriving!
Harshavardhan Meka
Geospatial Professional, Columbus Consolidated Government, Department of Public Works
Thank you so much, Andrea White. I truly appreciate your continued support and encouragement. I will always be grateful that you selected me for my first GIS internship and welcomed me back again that fall. Your leadership and confidence in me played an important role in my GIS journey. You were an inspiring team leader, and I feel fortunate to have worked with and learned from you!
